Kerr, Curry See Eye-to-eye on Pick-and-rolls: ‘We've Been Experimenting'

OAKLAND – The tinkering continues and the adjustments keep coming for the Warriors in their effort to march as close as they can to perfection.

The primary offense, as designed by coach Steve Kerr, relies largely on feel and rhythm, with players moving about as frequently as the ball until someone gets into position for the best possible shot.

There also is a time and a place for pick-and-roll action, because of the mismatches it can create. Point guard Stephen Curry and Kerr both are ready to make greater use of that tactic.

"We've talked about it; he and I have talked about it," Kerr said in his pregame news conference, prior to tipoff Wednesday night against Toronto at Oracle Arena. "We probably will do more of that. We've been experimenting with some different things."

Curry loves the idea, partly because it almost always puts the ball in his hands, where he can play off teammates, particularly Kevin Durant.

As great as it was having Draymond Green and Curry work the pick-and-roll last season, a Curry-Durant pick-and-roll – featuring perhaps the two greatest scorers on one team, ever – could push opposing defenses to the brink of despair.

"I definitely want to be in more pick-and-roll situations, whether I'm getting shots or whether we're manufacturing ball movement," Curry said Tuesday morning, after shootaround. "That's a strength of ours, regardless of how teams play us. There's a balance to getting KD in the right positions to make plays, Klay (Thompson) getting his opportunities, Draymond being able to (make plays) like he does."

The idea of resorting to the pick-and-roll has simmered for a while now. It practically boiled over when the Warriors fizzled down the stretch – with four field goals and four turnovers over the final 6:31 – in their Christmas Day loss to the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

"We're still sorting through some things," Kerr said. "But there's definitely a good chance you'll see the ball in Steph's hands a little bit more. It's all about finding the balance and finding the right combinations. And we're continuing to work on that."

It's not as if the Warriors are lagging. They own the NBA's best record, while also leading the league in scoring and ranking second in overall offensive rating.

They believe there is room to improve, and time to make sure they do.

"If you look across the board, we're all in really good shape, individually with how we're playing, and as a team," Curry said. "And we still have 50 games left to get better."

While acknowledging the "dynamics are different with KD on board," Kerr concurs with his point guard regarding the months between now and the playoffs.

"I'm really pleased with where we are," he said. "We've gotten a lot better from where we were those first couple months. But we have a ways to go, especially with late-game execution, with what we're going to run at certain key times."

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